--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a child I was a little bit disgusted…" description: "\"“As a child I was a little bit disgusted and embarrassed to learn about the facts of life, and did not immediately connect the idea of “sex” to the fee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d90/emily-gould-27361_children_as-a-child-i-was-a-little-bit-disgusted_2936493.png" --- # As a child I was a little bit disgusted and embarrassed to… ![“As a child I was a little bit disgusted and embarrassed to learn about the facts of life, and did not immediately connect the idea of “sex” to the feelings I got when I lay on the carpet on my stomach,idly humping a stuffed animal while watching Sesame Street. The realization that sex could be…” quote by Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d90/emily-gould-27361_children_as-a-child-i-was-a-little-bit-disgusted_2936493.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d90/emily-gould-27361_children_as-a-child-i-was-a-little-bit-disgusted_2936493.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d90/emily-gould-27361_children_as-a-child-i-was-a-little-bit-disgusted_2936493.png) > ““As a child I was a little bit disgusted and embarrassed to learn about the facts of life, and did not immediately connect the idea of “sex” to the feelings I got when I lay on the carpet on my stomach,idly humping a stuffed animal while watching Sesame Street. The realization that sex could be something to anticipate happily rather than to dread as another unpleasant grown-up duty came to me in a dream. Nothing overtly sexual even happened in this dream—it was a dream about lying in bed on a sunny afternoon with sun streaking the sheets, surrounded by warmth, feeling satisfied. It took life a long time for life to catch up with what this idealized version of sex could be like; it’s still not like that every time, but when it is, I notice.”” [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author describes how early sexual curiosity felt shameful, but a later dream reshaped sex as a warm, anticipatory experience, contrasting childhood dread with adult ideal. **In simple terms:** Childhood shame turned into a hopeful view of sex after a dream. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture positive sexual experiences. Themes sexuality self-discovery dreams growth Mood reflective hopeful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - sexual education - therapy - relationship building Key Concepts psychology embarrassment idealization Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate idealized visions with reality? - What role do dreams play in reshaping sexual attitudes? A Different Perspective Dreams may not fully resolve real-life complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Facts of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts-of-life/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Realization Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization-sex-4240344/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sex Anticipate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-anticipate-4354416/) [Sex Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-feelings-3433577/) [Sex Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-like/) [Sexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Stuffed animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuffed-animal/) [Sunny afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunny-afternoon/) ## Related quotes > [Stop being astounded by the realization that sex is the object of such misunderstanding and of such automatic clumsiness that it implies either a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-sollers/stop-being-astounded-by-the-realization-that-sex-is-the-object-of/) [Philippe Sollers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-sollers/) > [“But I have no sex feelings about you, and I kind of feel the sleeping-together thing is just odd. 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The impression thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/like-no-one-else-you-share-that-part-of-my-mind-that-associates/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“I don’t know why she broke up with me. I was always there when she needed me. Well, aside for about 3/4ths of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-don-t-know-why-she-broke-up-with-me-i-was-always-there-when-she/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I don’t think I have dreams anymore. I think they all died the same day I did, back on that sunny afternoon in spring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-geissinger/i-don-t-think-i-have-dreams-anymore-i-think-they-all-died-the-same/) [J.T. Geissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-geissinger/) > [“At the front door I see Tommy, a dark, unhappy shape in the middle of the sunny afternoon. We match, I think. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-maciel/at-the-front-door-i-see-tommy-a-dark-unhappy-shape-in-the-middle-of/) [Amanda Maciel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-maciel/) > [“Author describes one character's optimism as, that quiet well-being which perhaps you and I have felt on a sunny afternoon when, in our brightest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/author-describes-one-character-s-optimism-as-that-quiet-well-being/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is it about a beautiful sunny afternoon, with the birds singing and the wind rustling through the leaves, that makes you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/what-is-it-about-a-beautiful-sunny-afternoon-with-the-birds-singing/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Leisure is gone,--gone where the spinning-wheels are gone, and the pack-horses, and the slow wagons, and the peddlers, who brought bargains to the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/leisure-is-gone-gone-where-the-spinning-wheels-are-gone-and-the-pack/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“I missed my mother and Elysius. It wasn't that I wanted them with me at that very moment. I wanted them in the past.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-asher/i-missed-my-mother-and-elysius-it-wasn-t-that-i-wanted-them-with-me/) [Bridget Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-asher/) ## More by Emily Gould > [Women especially are trained to protect other people's feelings, and a lot of that involves not telling the truth even about the fundamental details…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/women-especially-are-trained-to-protect-other-people-s-feelings-and-a/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [No one ever addresses the possibility that a writer might not like her book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/no-one-ever-addresses-the-possibility-that-a-writer-might-not-like/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [A lot of people get to the point in their careers where blurbs are ghostwritten for them, because they're like, "I want to support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/a-lot-of-people-get-to-the-point-in-their-careers-where-blurbs-are/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [If a woman writes about herself, she’s a narcissist. If a man does the same, he’s describing the human condition. But people seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/if-a-woman-writes-about-herself-she-s-a-narcissist-if-a-man-does-the/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I can look back and recognize the things I've done and said that were wrong: unethical, gratuitously hurtful, golden-rule-breaking, et cetera. Sometimes the wrongness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-can-look-back-and-recognize-the-things-i-ve-done-and-said-that-were/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [Nothing trains you better to write fiction than being really good at writing about your own interiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/nothing-trains-you-better-to-write-fiction-than-being-really-good-at/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [“And there was Sam’s charming Marxist thing of thinking that restaurants, new clothes, et cetera, were frivolities that only served to keep workers addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/and-there-was-sam-s-charming-marxist-thing-of-thinking-that/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [Unless your aim is to deceive, there's not a meaningful distinction between memoir and fiction. They're marketing categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/unless-your-aim-is-to-deceive-there-s-not-a-meaningful-distinction/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [“I stopped typing and started having a conversation about the blog post with my boyfriend. He said he’d liked the part where the narrator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-stopped-typing-and-started-having-a-conversation-about-the-blog/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I don't think being a lawyer is more or less valuable than being a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-don-t-think-being-a-lawyer-is-more-or-less-valuable-than-being-a/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [When you write in the third person, you get to imagine other people's interiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/when-you-write-in-the-third-person-you-get-to-imagine-other-people-s/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [No human walking the earth thinks of himself as a bullshitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/no-human-walking-the-earth-thinks-of-himself-as-a-bullshitter/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [“She wondered if it counted as being good if you did the good thing for purely selfish reasons. Probably not, but who cared. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/she-wondered-if-it-counted-as-being-good-if-you-did-the-good-thing/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [To some extent the shorter the writing assignment is, the harder it is to accomplish, and a blurb is 200 words max. Blurbs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/to-some-extent-the-shorter-the-writing-assignment-is-the-harder-it-is/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I would love it if my book was considered chick-lit or a beach read. That would be great. People would buy my book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-would-love-it-if-my-book-was-considered-chick-lit-or-a-beach-read/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) [Explore all 20 Emily Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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The realization that sex could be something to anticipate happily rather than to dread as another unpleasant grown-up duty came to me in a dream. Nothing overtly sexual even happened in this dream—it was a dream about lying in bed on a sunny afternoon with sun streaking the sheets, surrounded by warmth, feeling satisfied. 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